Sunday, August 1, 2010

Confirmed: Chanel Raises Prices 20% to 30%

It's August 1st and that Chanel bag you've been saving up for may cost you 30% more than yesterday.

Medium Classic $2600 to $3400

Jumbo Classic $2995 to $3795

Jumbo Reissue $3600 to $4200

Saks, Bergodorfs, Bloomingdales and Chanel have already changed tickets and updated computer price information. It appears as if Nordstrom may be the only store that is holding prices steady for the next few day.

Handbags are not the only items that are soaring. An average Chanel flat usually ranges from $575 to $650. For Fall, many flats are priced at $895. Even a basic ballerina flat has gone from $585 to $685.

In such uncertain economic times one can only wonder why the prices of luxury items are skyrocketing. Last week, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton surprised analysts when it reported that second-quarter sales increased 22%. Nobody saw it coming. Hermes also said that revenue may grow as much as 12% this year.

What's driving this growth? One word: China. The Chinese middle class is growing exponentially and already represents 25% of the world's population. The country has gone from being the 20th largest oil consuming country to number two and is on track to becoming number one. Besides oil, the Chinese are consuming LOTS of luxury. The nouveau middle class has an insatiable thirst for European brands, which is diving up revenue and, you guessed it-- prices.

So China, we love dim sum but you've got to give us a break on Chanel and Hermes. We just can't keep up with this. Or, maybe, this is a grand plot to drive up the desire for Chinese-made counterfeits. We don't know but we're just throwing out the idea.

Yes, the increase in Chinese consumption of luxury goods is a grand plot to drive up sales of Chinese counterfeit goods. The Chinese are becoming wealthier and wealthier, and at a faster rate than any other country in the world. Maybe counterfeits are all you are able to afford. Those who still snicker at the Chinese should really wake up and see what has been going on with the global economy.

Your snide remarks are DISTASTEFUL and IGNORANT and it's not something a credible blog would ever post. So I suppose credibility goes out the window for this blog. You will undoubtly lose a great deal of your readership because of this tackless racism.

well, at least they saved up and bought with cash. You Americans when buying houses you can NOT afford and driving the whole world to the ground with your worthless IOUs, please give the world a break!

It's pretty interesting the way people "talk" to each other when they are anonymous. Pretty easy to throw around words like "racist," "retard," and "loser," when the object of your tirade can't see your face. Btw, the use of the word "retard" as an insult is as ignorant as an eggroll joke. I'm all for expressing your anger and disappointment, but all of the virulence makes it hard to take any of those posts seriously.

There's no need to call people names and to insult one another. Yes, it was tasteless and a bad judgment call to use dim sum/China in the same sentence, which further added fuel to some readers as it was somewhat of a racist comment. People use it so loosely that they don't realize what they are doing and how they are adding to the overall ignorance of it all. However, please bare in mind that there's a lot more to worry about than a lame comment and a $3000+ Chanel bag.

It is an interestingly ironic factoid that China is a huge Luxury consumer AND yet the largest producer of counterfeit goods. Just from a sociological perspective that is interesting. That comment should not be attacked.

Im sure most of these comments are by one or two people. The post was obviously meant in jest. Editorial writers routinely joke and poke fun at stereotypes to make a point or to lighten up a story. The outrage is pretty lame. Anybody who would take the post seriously has no sense of humor or is way too sensitive.

This post was profoundly racists. Pretending that it was a joke doesn't fly. Anyone who thinks it's funny needs a better sense of humor. It was also unbelievably stupid. Prices on all luxury accessories are soaring, especially footwear due to increased demand globally. Despite the recession, demand is up in the US, because accessories are viewed as more affordable by consumers

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About Me

I’m a fashion/business journalist turned blogger. New York Magazine, ABC News, Smart Money and The Wall Street Journal are just a few stops that have prepared me for this particular endeavor. I’m writing on my time about what I know best: Shopping. No sale is too private. No brand too aspirational. I’m breaking it down and dishing the best deals—and we’re not talking just sample sales. This is the real deal gurl!